Sunday, January 17, 2010

50% off - India Visa fee for Commonwealth Games!

The Indian tourism ministry is likely to waive off 50% of the visa fee charged from visitors of Commonwealth nations as an incentive to boost foreign tourist arrivals. This is part of its effort to offer incentives for tourism to India for the Commonwealth Games to be held in October.

“We are considering a proposal to waive off 50% of the visa fee. The expense will be borne by the tourism ministry,” a source said. The move comes after the positive response to ‘Visit India 2009’ promotion where major stakeholders like hospitality partners, tour operators and others had offered schemes and promotions in addition to what the visitor paid for. The visa fee waiver will supplement the promotions and the ministry is already in talks with Delhi Guest House, New Delhi airport hotels, India travel agents and New Delhi tour operators for extending these incentives for another year. Commonwealth games 2010 are expected to bring millions of visitors to Delhi and India and therefore the government wants to make the maximum out of this opportunity.

There are 54 members of the Commonwealth of nations of which visitors from UK, Australia and Canada form a large part of India’s tourist inflow. India received 5.11 million tourists of which 0.5 million come from Commonwealth nations.

The waiver fee is going to be a significant revenue loss, but it will be more than made up by the business generated by the millions of tourists pouring into the country.

Monday, January 4, 2010

India Travel: Glimpse of Diversity

India Travel: Glimpse of Diversity
India has been a country of diverse cultures and traditions and has often intrigued foreign travelers who are excited at the slightest idea of exploring the different facets of the country. India Travel remains facinating and gives a glimpse of an exotic world of sainst and snake charmers.

There are numerous sites and locations of cultural as well as historical importance which are a major draw for the tourists who come into or wish to come into the country.

Of late there has also been a spurt of advertisement and promotions from different states within the country; promoting themselves as tourist destinations and attracting travelers from across the globe. The best part about this is that there is also a concerted effort from the governments both the state government and the central government in making the individual states and the entire country a tourist friendly destination.

There have been initiations of various programs with the help of government funding and support which highlight the various aspects of tourism within the country in order to entice the foreign travelers to come into the country. In response; the tourism industry has also seen a significant increase in demand over the last decade and various tourism and its ancillary industries have grown by leaps and bounds during the period. Several renowned domestic and international chains of hotels and travel companies are setting up their operating units in different parts of the country to grab a significant portion of the untapped tourism market in India. A lot of unexplored locations have suddenly come into prominence for the package that they can offer to the tourists. There are several cities and towns in the country now; where tourism and its ancillary functions are the major economic drivers for that particular city or town.

While all these have been very positive for the country and has ensured growth and employment generation for thousands of residents or citizens involved; there is also a downside to this. A lot of cases have also come to light where travelers especially the first time foreign travelers have complained of misconduct, whilst on their visit to India. Further; cases of scams and travelers being duped and deprived of what was promised to them have also been doing rounds recently. This has to an extent put off certain sections of foreign travelers who wish to explore the diversity of the country; but are skeptical on how to go about organizing their trips so that they can avoid being scammed.